All posts by Chris Buckley

Indiana Court of Appeals Opinions (Published Opinions Only)

Rachel Mosco v. Indiana Department of Child Services
43A03-0907-CV-312
Civil. Affirms trial court dismissal of Mosco’s petition for judicial review. Mosco didn’t substantially comply with the Administrative Orders and Procedures Act and the trial court had the discretion to dismiss her case.

Lawrence E. Nunley v. State of Indiana
31A01-0902-CR-88
Criminal. Reverses two convictions of child molesting because the videotape of the interview made a year after the molestation and the witness testimony that repeated the contents of the interview shouldn’t have been admitted. Affirms convictions of two other counts of child molesting and felony dissemination of matter harmful to minors.

Frederick D. Fox v. State of Indiana
24A01-0905-CR-232
Criminal. Affirms sentence following guilty plea to Class D felony possession of a controlled substance. There was no abuse of discretion in the denial of Fox’s request for alternative misdemeanor sentencing, despite his remorse and the harmful impact of a felony conviction on his family and employees.

Jerell Owens v. State of Indiana
48A02-0904-CR-375
Criminal. Affirms aggregate sentence of 73 years for murder and Class C felony robbery handed down on remand. The trial court didn’t deny Owens his right to due process when it increased the sentence of his murder conviction and did not exceed the aggregate sentence originally imposed.

Kenya Lee v. State of Indiana
49A04-0901-CR-46
Criminal. Affirms convictions of invasion of privacy as Class A misdemeanors. The trial court did not err in admitting hearsay evidence regarding the identity of the woman Lee was prohibited from contacting.

Thomas L. Vandenburgh v. Candace A. Vandenburgh
64A05-0811-CV-673
Civil. Affirms finding Thomas in contempt for modifying his child support payments in spite of a court ordered amount and award of attorneys fees to Candace. Remands so the trial court may provide more specific findings or signed and verified worksheets and resolve the apparent inconsistency in crediting Candace for a sum of money deposited into their son’s account while at the same time finding her payment as a gift.

Jerold Jackson and Virginia Jackson v. The Board of Commissioners of the County of Monroe, Vova Johnson, et al.
53A05-0901-CV-20
Civil. Reverses trial court determination that a road running through the Jacksons’ property is a public road. There was no evidence the public used the road for 20 years.

County goes easy on military families who pay property taxes late

WSBT Full News Story

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY ? There is less than a month until St. Joe County property taxes are due, but military families whose spouses are on active duty can get a bit of a break if they can’t pay right away.

The Service Member’s Civil Relief Act is a federal law saying military members can only be charged a flat 6 percent late fee, no matter how long it takes to pay.

However, the county clerk-treasurer does have to be notified before the payment is due. For civilians, if you are late with property tax, it is a five percent fee if you pay within 30 days. After that it goes to 10 percent.

St. Joe County taxes are due December 11. Elkhart County’s bills were due this week. Property tax payers there were only given two weeks to pay after they got the bill in the mail.

7th Circuit rules en banc on mezuzah case

Indiana Lawyer Full Article

The full 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that condominium owners prevented from hanging religious objects on their home can in some cases sue their association under the Fair Housing Act for alleged religious and racial discrimination, after they’ve bought the residence and moved in.